PVCC and UVA Work to Expand Education Opportunities for People in Prison
Higher education institutions in Charlottesville are working to expand educational opportunities and provide a second chance for those behind bars.
Piedmont Virginia Community College and the University of Virginia are both helping lead the charge to help people in prison earn a college degree.
“It’s really about inclusivity, it’s about access, it’s about providing an opportunity for students to gain socioeconomic mobility,” said Julie Olive, the Coordinator of Higher Education in Prison Programs at PVCC.
For nearly 20 years, PVCC has been teaching inmates at prisons in Central Virginia, beginning at Fluvanna Correctional Center for women in 2006, and then expanding to Buckingham Correctional Center and Dillwyn Correctional Center in 2017 and 2021, respectively.
150 students have earned a PVCC associate degree while in prison to date, PVCC says.
“On average, they have higher GPAs and higher completion rates than our on-campus students, which I think really speaks to the fact that they understand the value of an education,” Olive said.
